English English Dictionary

An extensive order of parasitic worms. They are found in the internal cavities of animals belonging to all classes. Many species are found, also, on the gills and skin of fishes. A few species are parasitic on man, and some, of which the fluke is the most important, are injurious parasites of domestic animals. The trematodes usually have a flattened body covered with a chitinous skin, and are furnished with two or more suckers for adhesion. Most of the species are hermaphrodite. Called also Trematoda, and Trematoidea. See Fluke, Tristoma, and Cercaria.